Nacogdoches County Sheriff issues statement on gun control

Nacogdoches County, TX (KETK) —
Nacogdoches County Sheriff Jason Bridges issued the following statement on his Facebook page, in response to questions about his stance on gun control:

I have received several phone calls regarding my position on guns laws and restrictions. I apologize for not answering this question sooner, however as you can imagine we have been very busy the first three weeks in office. However, I do want to address this issue and anyone's concerns.

I took an oath of office to uphold the laws of the United States Constitution and the Texas Constitution. This is something that I take very seriously and is a big part of the basic foundation of my job as your elected official. I wholeheartedly support the 2nd amendment, the right for people to keep and bear arms. As your Sheriff, I will continue to support the 2nd amendment to the United States Constitution.

As a father of three children, I am equally concerned about their safety, not just in our schools but everywhere in our society. I am definitely for more security in our school system; however I do not believe this is the only answer to protect our children and our citizens. A large majority of the shootings (if not all of them) have been conducted by people with mental health problems. This is a known fact.

I personally believe that we have strengthened background checks before selling any firearms, currently a background investigation is conducted by the FBI. Law abiding citizens should not have any problems obtaining firearms and being responsible. We need to invest in mental illness and treatment, not in fruitless spending that will not alleviate the real problem. We need to develop a direct action plan on how to identify people with a history of mental illness or be able to identify issues at a young age, by supporting our school counselors, hospitals and mental health facilities.

As your Sheriff, I will stand up and support our citizens for their rights and will work with state representatives and other law makers to address these concerns. If you have any other questions please feel free to contact me at the Sheriff Office.